We have to report a failure in our usually very successful investment ideas in Liverpool: we missed out on the success of Liverpool Football Club, which would now appear to be worth around five times as much as it was just seven short years ago… The NBA superstar LeBron James invested just under five million…

Ok… we all know that there is so much fun to be had by visiting the Sunshine State – Florida. With a plethora of theme parks, restaurants and world-class activities, Florida has something for even the most discerning of visitors. So that is the holiday element out of the way… but what else does Florida…

Buy-to-let has, over the years, shown remarkable growth. Although private rental has always been with us, the sector really took off in the final years of the last century, around 1996, when there was increasing demand for rental properties but a lack of supply. Steady growth has seen the private rented sector made up 19…

According to The Guardian, the tax return revealed that in the tax year 2014/15, he had a total taxable income of £200,000 or thereabouts. He made £141,000 of this through his salary as Prime Minister. In addition to this, he has been renting out his Notting Hill property since moving to Downing Street, and in…

There aren’t any cast-iron guaranteed ways of making (and keeping) a million pounds, but property acquisition and rental is one of the best ­– if you choose carefully, and have a tiny smattering of luck. Once you are able to acquire your first property then it is quite easy to move forwards and, before you…

From April 6th 2016, everyone buying a second home – for whatever purpose – is subject to higher taxes (stamp duty land tax, SDLT). Rates are levied at a new 3 per cent on homes between £40,001 and £125,000, then 5 per cent up £250,000, and then 8 per cent up to £500,000, with rates…

According to commercial real estate agency property bubble is a great scare story in a newspaper headline – but what, exactly, is it? In simple terms, a ‘bubble’ arises when prices (of property, oil, gold or, indeed, anything) go up and up speculatively – until the point comes when the market simply can’t sustain the…

Property investors fall into, roughly, three camps: Serial purchasers: those who buy, do the property up, then sell and move on to their next project Acquisitional purchasers: those who move into buy-to-let, which they manage themselves (or through local agents): getting tenants, checking references, collecting rent and maintenance The ‘hands-off’ investors – people who buy…

We had a chat recently with one of our long-established clients, to see if his story could be of interest to other would-be buy-to-let investors. We asked, first of all, how and why he had decided to move into buy-to-let. “Back in 2009 I was left an inheritance of around £120,000. I was in the…

Did you realize that you can invest in a UK buy-to-let property and pay your typical 50% deposit in monthly installments? Most people interested in property investing already know that nothing builds wealth and freedom faster than a balanced property portfolio. However, investors of all types and skill-sets face the same challenge: raising enough deposit…

A surge in buy-to-let investors looking to swerve the new three per cent stamp duty surcharge from April is pushing house prices up, findings suggest. Increased interest from buy-to-let investors pushing prices up Number of homes coming up for sale increased last month, RICS says Property prices and rental costs expected to rise over next…

In 2015, prices in Central Florida grew by 11.6% and the good news is that they are predicted to do even better this year. There is a problem Many investors that we have spoken to over the years have been concerned about the unpredictability of holiday rental markets. The investors like property that is in…

That’s what Ronald and Joyce Brown said, after missing out on the outstanding student opportunity – The Cube. We launched The Cube in 2013 and, after several discussions, the Browns were about to reserve a unit. For some strange reason, however, procrastination (what I call ‘the dream breaker’!) got hold of them; when they finally…

The Shard is the most valuable skyscraper in the UK, valued at £1.5bn. This is followed by the HSBC Tower in Canary Wharf, at £990m, and comes from a survey of more than 600,000 buildings across the country. Towers higher than St. Paul’s that have the highest value: The Shard – £1.49bn HSBC Tower –…

Timing your entry and exit in a property market is a key element in becoming a successful investor. The eagle-eyed property investor is always looking to invest either at the end of a recession, the bottom, or the recovery stage, whilst looking to realise profits by selling (or through the release of equity) during the…

Birmingham has been reinvented in the past two decades, following a long spell of decline as car makers and other manufacturing industries closed. Birmingham may not be as famous around the world as Manchester or Liverpool, but it is the UK’s second city in terms of population. It has also just been included on a…

The average value of a home in Britain was just £66,110 in 1995, but has climbed to £262,847, according to the research by estate agents Savills. It means prices have risen £200,000 or the equivalent of £10,000 a year. There are significant regional variations, with the top five areas seeing values increase a massive 538…

Liverpool, home of the Beatles, has recently emerged as one of the best places to invest in buy-to-let property. The city’s world-famous football teams, Liverpool and Everton, may not finish top of the premier league table anymore but, when it comes to buy-to-let, the city is riding high. One of the positive effects of the…

Last year UK house prices grew a further 10% – fuelled by limited supply and increased mortgage availability. Should the market continue at this rate over the medium to long term, Is a long term loan right for me? or compounded growth would mean that your property investments could potentially double in value within just…

“Student housing has become an increasingly popular investment in recent years. The sector has ballooned from a fringe investment 10 years ago to being a global market worth $200bn today.” – Financial Times Becoming a student is a good long-term investment in the future and so is property investment. Put the two together – and…